March has arrived and so have the first blooms of the season.
Oh, happy heart!
Category Archives: sewing
passing time passing gas
Bright amazing sunshine is ours today. It is also extremely cold and the wind is relentless.
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repurposing vintage textiles
fringe
I’ve been keeping my heart busy with projects. They are all rocking some fringe.
So in the words of the Junk Gypsies – “If loving fringe is wrong, I don’t want to be right.”
Yes, I’ve been a crafty sewing freak.
This spring I scored a bit of vintage fabric at thrift shops and yard sales. Oh and all kinds of fringe too.
Boxes of it.
Oh Yeah!
I made a pair of curtains for the pool side bathroom door.
Mr. Cottage says I got the ’60’s thing going on here.
Several months ago, I bought a plain little stool at a local thrift shop.
Painted it one coat of Parisian Grey chalk paint, then a coat of Grotto with a somewhat dry brush, so that the grey could still show.
Cut some foam to size.
Played with fabric choices.
Too plain, not the right color.
Nope. Right color, pattern didn’t feel right.
Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner.
More vintage fabric.
A pop of ball fringe and the completed project is ready to travel to Coral Cottage South.
I leave you with a few photos from last night. Mr. Cottage and I were mesmerized by the full moon and feeling grateful to live amidst the beauty of the rolling hills of Virginia.
Barely there wispy clouds.
On the other side of the driveway the sun slips behind the trees in a blazing ball of awesomeness.
What projects have you been working on? Do tell.
See you later, Bye!
Kim
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fly strong
I’ve been waiting for my new year, one word mantra to come to me. I was afraid I wasn’t going to receive it. However, as I sat talking with my doctor last week, it hit me.
Strength. Strong.
1. The state, property, or quality of being strong.
2. The power to resist attack; impregnability.
3. The power to resist strain or stress; durability.
4. The ability to maintain a moral or intellectual position firmly.
5. Capacity or potential for effective action: a show of strength.
I want the whole package, Body, Mind and Soul.
My doctor says that my entire body has become unconditioned. That is a polite way of saying I am fat and out of shape.
I will be starting physical therapy again very soon, and then on to an exercise program. I am so looking forward to this.
Not because I am an exercise nut, no ugh I hate to exercise, but my body wants to be healthy.
My desire for myself is to become physically stronger, and for my creative endeavors to be reflective of this too.
I want to convey a sense of strength and fortitude, and the hope of what is possible, even when I create a gentle humble object.
Strength, strong and assured. On that note, a peak at a new design I have completed and added to my shop. I hope that it expresses the strength that is found in delicate beauty.
I have sewn vintage seam binding and new vibrant blue burlap together to form a background for the vintage image of a Lazuli Bunting. Remember those cigarette cards I scored the other week? I’ve transferred them to fabric.
I’ll apologize for the poor quality photos, it is dark and dreary today.
A twig, a wire nest with eggs and a feather for accent.
I have spring on my mind – can you tell?
See you later,
Bye!
Kim
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daddy’s necktie – a creative process
Over a year ago, some friends and I went on a shopping venture, where they helped me nab a big stash of old neckties. I planned to repurpose them into something.
I’ve pulled them out from time to time and thought about making stuff with them, but as of yet nothing has come to me.
Or I just couldn’t bring myself to cut them up.
Or I had some kind of block, or I don’t know – I just wasn’t feeling it.
Recently my dad gave me a stash of his old neckties.
I got to work that afternoon cutting them up and repurposing them into their new life.
I think it was because I could feel a personal bond; I could remember him wearing most of them.
The creative gods said now is the time.
When I create, my heart is the leading force. I need the process, and the end result to be something that comes from my heart, and speaks to the heart.
Fabric cuff bracelets.
Yep, the old man’s necktie – one tie, three ways to smile.
This one I call sun-burst and stars.
I use lots of straight free-flowing stitching to achieve a simple style outlining on all the fabric patches. This is where my stash of fabric scraps come into play.
I added a few basic hand embroidery stars. Vintage buttons from the collection.
Old lace and dreams.
On this one, the necktie is layered several times with, lace, ribbon, free form stitching and dare to dream printed from the computer on muslin fabric.
A golden wing and a smoky glass bead for accent.
Believe features a sweet little key charm and a clear bead.
While I work on these pieces, I not only remember my dad wearing these ties, but I also think of the women in my life that influenced my sewing. My mom, she tried to be very disciplined in her sewing. She was a perfectionist that would spend many hours, tearing out her stitches and redoing them until she achieved perfection. I found her process to be un-fulfilling and swore I would never sew. My grandmother, sewed out of necessity. She repurposed and reused what she had on hand. I think her sewing sensibilities are what I feel the most when I sit down in front of my Singer.
What is your creative process? Do you have a special way of achieving your vision?
See you later,
Bye!
Kim
Visit Night Bird Creations to see more
Moonbeam catching * star wishing * soulful handmade *art for your heart.
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Vintage Barkcloth and Chenille Stocking
I’ve finished a few sewing projects.
Holiday stockings, all made with recycled material.
Some of the material is really old, vintage and some new, like the boho gypsy stocking was a skirt that I purchased at a thrift store and took apart.
When I purchased my first sewing machine last year, the first thing I wanted to make were stockings.
Well, that didn’t happen. A year later, and few false starts I’m on my way.
Vintage Bark cloth and Chenille
Vintage Bark and Chenille Stocking
Traditional Plaid stocking
Traditional plaid stocking
Traditional plaid red stocking
Boho Gypsy Stocking made from an old skirt
Boho Gypsy stocking
Boho Gypsy stocking
Boho Gypsy
Body made from vintage fabric.
The body of this one was made using vintage fabric, I’ve had for many years. That piece of fabric on the cuff is new. It is a left-over scrap from a chair I am reupholstering.
Tropical Red Stocking
What projects are you working on?
See you later, Bye!
Kim
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sewing holiday projects with recycled fabric
threads
Threads that bind us together.
Last weekend, Mr. Cottage treated me to a trip to a few craft and thrift stores.
Honestly it isn’t an easy undertaking and I’m really lucky that he is so patient with me.
New embroidery thread.
The colors make me swoon.
I always lose the color codes, and end up with a tangled mess of thread, so I’m finally trying to organize and write down the numbers.
I used a craft punch to cut out the free artist pages from an old issue of Somerset Studio magazine, wrote the color codes on the back and wrapped the thread as nicely as I could.
A sewing project using all vintage materials, except the sparkly button is a new find.
Each piece of old fabric scrap is sewn to the piping and then the vintage buttons are hand sewn into place.
Burlap, a few french knots, pom pom fringe
The plan is to sew the finished piping on an old popcorn or chenille blanket that I plan to sew into a scarf.
Keeps my fingers busy and my mind in a good place.
I purchased this wool blanket from a thrift shop
I paid just a few dollars, it is in excellent shape. My intentions were to cut it up and use it in a project, but for now we (the cats) are enjoying snuggling in it so much I can’t bear to take that away from them.
Going to the craft store and seeing on the cover of Haute Handbags magazine a bag made by my talented friend Debra of Monnie Bean Folk Art. She has been published many times. It felt good to see her work front and center.
Debra creates folk art that is very different from my glass art, but more in lines with my mixed media work, and what my heart has been whispering to me to follow. Debra crafts beauty with her words and photography from her heart on her personal blog flowersmith-debra. Her creations and her words have kept me inspired in the past few weeks. I can hear hear her whispering encouragement to me when I am sinking low and I know that her words are the threads to keep me going.
Coming home to a basket full of goodies from the girlfriends and these lovely orange Gerbera daisies.
So sweet.
The threads that bind us together. Feeling the love y’all.
See you later, Bye!
Kim
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retro re-do
From a box lot purchased at auction came the ugliest lamp ever.
The ugliest lamp – before
Or so I thought.
I was going to give it to a friend that I thought would appreciate the design as it was.
But then I started envisioning a little face lift. One thing led to another.
It has been so blasted hot and humid here. The mosquitos are horrid from all the rain we have been having. It was time for some indoor projects. But it was hot in the house too. Mr. Cottage and I each set out to work on some DIY projects for our main living room – or great-room.
Back to the face lift for the lamp.
ceramic base with teak wood
The teak wood was looking a little tired, but after a couple of applications of Old English, better.
I used spray adhesive to cover the shade in an inexpensive, fun aqua and white polka-dot utility fabric.
After the adhesive dried, I then glued a green beaded fringe tassel trim. I pinned the trim in place until the glue had dried. The trim was the most expensive part of the entire project.
Not pictured, but after the trim dried, I then glued a coordinating trim on the inside to cover the raw edges of the fabric.
While I waited for all that glue to dry, I finished sewing curtains for the great room, a project I started a couple of months ago.
New curtains and a face-lift for a tired old ugly lamp. Not bad, for a weekend project.
Whilst I was working on these, Mr. Cottage was busy with his project.
Do you know what it is?
Yep, we got AC. This is called a mini-split. It will also heat the room in the cold months. These units are great for homes such as ours that are older and don’t have room for duct-work.
For now, that completes our great-room make over.
See you later, Bye!
Kim
